Wine Pairings

Usually I leave my wine information to my special section called “The Wine Rack”, which is in the lower left column. I only post the information periodically to get it into the archives. Several weeks ago I started researching what wine would pair best with turkey. I scoured the net for information, only to be more confused than when I started.

Different sites will inevitably give different suggestions, and mind you, the suggestions are far apart when considering taste and heaviness. Going to local wine shops will also yield different suggestions.

So just what is the answer to the million dollar question… what will pair best with turkey? It seems the answer will lie mostly in the tastes of you and your guests. Someone once told me… if you like it… drink it… while I agree with that advice… there are some things to consider when pairing foods to wine.

In my quest to answer the question… I found a site… Wine Tours – inetours.com…. that offered a really good list of 10 rules of thumb of things to consider when pairing food and wine. I highly recommend that you take a look at the site… it not only lists the rules of thumb but also has valuable information about the basic flavors in wine. An understanding of the basic flavors in different wines will help you match them to the different flavors found in foods.

Their ten rules of thumb:

1. If you’re taking wine as a gift to a dinner … don’t worry about matching the wine to the food unless you have been asked to. You would need enough information about what is being served to make an informed decision. Just bring a good wine. Match the quality of the food and wine…. a grand dinner deserves a better wine than wine for hamburgers made on the grill.

2. When serving more than one wine at a meal, its customary to serve lighter wines before full-bodied ones. Dry wines should be served before sweet wines unless a sweet flavored dish is served early in the meal. In that case you would match the sweet dish with a sweet wine. Lower alcohol wines should be served before higher alcohol wines.

3. Balance flavor intensity. Pair light bodied wines with lighter food and fuller-bodied wines with heartier, more flavorful, richer and fattier dishes.

4. Consider how the food is prepared. Delicately flavored foods…poached or steamed… pair best with delicate wines. It’s easier to pair wines with more flavorfully prepared food… braised, grilled, roasted or sautéed. Pair the wine with the sauce, seasoning or dominant flavor of the dish.

5. Match flavors. An earthy Pinot Noir goes well with mushroom soup and the grapefruit/citrus taste of Sauvignon Blancs go well with fish for the same reasons that lemon does.

6. Balance the sweetness.

7. Consider pairing opposites. Very hot or spicy foods….some Thai dishes or hot curries…often pair well with sweet dessert wines. Opposing flavors can play off each other, creating new flavor sensations and cleansing the palate.

8. Match by geographic location. Regional foods and wines often have a natural affinity for each other.

9. Pair wine and cheese. In some European countries the best wine is reserved for the cheese course. Red wines go well with mild to sharp cheese. Pungent and intensely flavored cheese is better with a sweeter wine. Goat cheeses pair well with dry white wine, while cheese like Camembert and Brie, if not over ripe, pair well with just about any red wine including Cabernet, Zinfandel and Red Burgundy.

10. Adjust food flavor to better pair with the wine. Sweetness in a dish will “bring out” the bitterness and astringency in wine making it appear drier, stronger and less fruity. High amounts of acidity in food will make the wine seem mellower and less sour….sweet wine will taste sweeter.

I found these rules of thumb to make perfect sense. I think they are an excellent guide for you to think about when choosing wine for your food. Keep in mind your personal tastes and the tastes of your guests.

So what have I decided to pair with turkey? I decided to offer 3 choices…. a Zinfandel because I know several guests really like it and it’s a light wine that I think will go well with the roast turkey…. a full-bodied red wine… probably a Cabarnet…. again because I know that some guests really like it and we will also be serving ham… which I think will go well with it… and a Chardonnay because it has been suggested by several sources as a good pairing and I’m willing to try it with this meal to see what I think of the pairing…. I like Chardonnay which is also a consideration.

I hope this information has been helpful and I strongly suggest you visit Wine Tours for more information to help you decide what’s right for you.

Featured Wine: Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety that is actually a white mutation of the Pinot noir grape which is a red grape. The grapes are usually grayish-blue, but can vary widely. They can be a brownish pink to black and sometimes white. It is not the same as pinot blanc.

The wines produced by this grape vary widely also… and range from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink.

Pinot gris is the name used primarily in France and Oregon. Pinot grigio refers to the pinot gris grape grown in Italy and California. Other countries use the two names interchangeably.

Wines made from this grape vary widely and are dependent on the region and wine making style they are from.

According to Pinot Gris, the other white wine, “The Pinot gris produces wines that are fruity in aroma, with flavors of honey, apple, pear, vanilla, oak and citrus.”

French Pinot gris from the Alsace region are medium to full bodied wines and are more fruity and flowery. The flavors range from peach to grapefruit to melon. These can age well.

German Pinot gris are more full bodied with a slight sweetness.

Pinot gris from Oregon are medium bodied with a yellow to copper pink color and evidence of pear, apple and/or melon.

Pinot grigio from Italy is typically a dry not sweet wine….a light bodied wine that is light in color with sometimes spritzy flavors that can be crisp.

California Pinot grigio tend to be richer in flavor than the Italian Pinot grigio wines and are more light bodied with a crisp refreshing taste. They have a mineral taste with a lemony or citrusy flavor.

Pinot gris goes well with foods typically associated with white wines, which includes fish, seafood, chicken, pork and Asian cuisine.

Pinot grigio also pairs well with light foods that have a thick sauce or heavy spices…. For example chicken in a rich white sauce or eggplant with heavy spices.

Pinot gris is a white wine and should be served at 48 F.

The Sources:

Wikipedia …
Wine Intro. Com …
Pinot Gris, the other white wine….
For more information see these sources.

Wine 101: Chardonnay

Chardonnay (pronounced Shar-don-nay) is America's number one selling dry white wine.

Chardonnay is a green skinned grape variety believed to have originated in the Burgundy wine region of France but is now grown worldwide. It is used to make champagne and white Burgundy.

According to wine.com, Chardonnay varies greatly depending on climate, soil and winemaking. Cooler climates like New Zealand lead to crisp, acid prone wines, and warmer climates like Southern California and Australia produce a riper grape that create heavier wine leaning towards tropical fruit flavors.

Food and Wine recommends the wines of Burgundy with roasted chicken or seafood; and the "New World Chardonnays" pair well with pasta dishes made with cream or cheese, with lobster or other rich seafood and with Asian dishes that include coconut milk.

Champagne Tips

Tip of the Day:

These tips are from the Korbel website…. I thought it would be a good idea to include some information on champagne with New Year’s just around the corner. I hope you find the information helpful.

Store your champagne in a cool, dark area and keep the bottle on its side. Champagne remains good for up to three years.

How much to buy?

Allow six very generous glasses per standard 750 ml. bottle. For a toast or dessert, allow one glass per person. For cocktails or as an aperitif, you may need two per person. For an entire evening, plan on ½ bottle per person.

How to chill champagne

For a large party, you may want to chill your champagne in a bucket of ice cubes instead of a refrigerator. The champagne will chill faster in a bucket or container that is half filled with ice and water and it is considered the best cooling method. It will chill in 30 minutes as opposed to an hour in a refrigerator.

Champagne that has been chilled does not need to remain chilled. As long as the bottle is stored on its side, it can be placed back in the wine rack until ready to be chilled again.

How to open a bottle of champagne

“The popping of a cork may sound festive and exciting, but it does waste champagne. The pop may also be dangerous if it causes the cork to fly. The recommended Korbel way to properly open a bottle is to ease the cork out slowly, with the sound of a gentle sigh.

For the best results in opening, follow these steps:

1. Avoid shaking the bottle. Remove the foil and wire muzzle, keeping your thumb on the cork to prevent it from shooting out of the bottle. Or, wrap a towel around the neck of the bottle, covering the cork.

2. Tilt the bottle at a 45 degree angle while holding the cork firmly with one hand and the base of the bottle with the other. Be sure to point the bottle away from your guests.

3. Do not twist the cork. Rather, twist the bottle slowly while letting the cork glide out gently, emitting a gentle sigh.

4. Never use a corkscrew. A champagne cork is highly compressed. If a corkscrew is inserted at an angle, you may have an exploding bottle in your hand. Exercise caution!”

Recipe: Sangria Punch

This is a terrific punch recipe that is always a hit. I made this punch years ago for the 25th wedding anniversary party I threw for my parents. Before the party my father insisted that it was only for “the women… men would never want it”… and advised me not to buy enough for two batches… being a true-to-form daughter… I didn’t listen and bought enough for two patches anyway… and I was glad I did… but we ran out anyway…. Women were drinking it in punch glasses and men were filling highball glasses (in case you don’t know what size that is… it’s the tall ones).

This has a light fruity flavor and works really well with the Sangria wine. It goes with a wide variety of foods and is relatively inexpensive to make…. And most of all it looks really festive.

Sangria Punch Recipe:

All you need:

1 quart of Sangria
28 oz. club soda
3-4 shots Grand Marnier
3-4 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)
Frozen strawberries
Frozen or canned sliced peaches (drained)
Slices of oranges and/or lemons

All you need to do:

Combine Sangria, club soda, Grand Marnier and sugar.

Pour into a punch bowl or pitchers.

Float a sampling of the fruit in the punch bowl or pitchers.